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Scholars
for Tomorrow
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The Graduate School is proud to introduce its newest interdisciplinary fellowship program: Scholars for Tomorrow. Now finishing its inaugural year, the program gives graduate students a yearlong opportunity to explore creative new concepts in learning, along with cutting-edge research and discovery. During monthly gatherings, scholars from across disciplines discuss and investigate how their own fields of study relate to an overriding theme. This year, two groups of students were selected to explore aesthetics in society or computational sciences. Next year, students will focus on international studies or ethics, health and public policy as well. Themes will vary from year to year, as a primary goal of the program is to respond to current societal interests. So, what makes someone a Scholar
for Tomorrow? He might be an artist concerned about the environment or
a computer science student interested in drug design. Whatever her passion,
a Scholar for Tomorrow cares about the societal importance of her work. Aesthetics in Society Fellows:
The Science of Art
Severn Eaton exemplifies the characteristics of an Aesthetics in Society fellow. A studio artist whose interests lie in sculpture and installation art, Eaton offers a unique perspective as the scholars discuss how the humanities influence and are influenced by social forces. It just so happens,
Eaton said, that some of my work deals with the effects of the living
environment on people. Fellow Brandye Peterson, an
occupational therapy student, says she appreciates hearing an artists
views on how people interact with their environment. Peterson says occupational
therapists care how individual patients spend their time. We believe
the arts are important, she says. Anything that leads to a
healthy use of time is important. Every month the fellows, with
fields as related as apples to oranges, find connecting strands among
them. They are scholars of history, philosophy, music history, occupational
therapy, dramatic art and art history. Robert Vance, aesthetics advisor
and a philosophy professor, arranges monthly gatherings for the scholars
to meet and learn about artists of different stripes. The first featured
Bob Gilgor, a physician turned photographer whose exhibit appeared at
the Chapel Hill Museum. Installation artist and environmentalist
Bryant Holsenbreck talked to the group the next month about how she turns
trash like mail and bottle lids into art. Scholar Jason Gersh, whos
interested in teaching 16th Century English music, says Holsenbrecks
presentation was enlightening. I found it interesting to see how
objects are rejected by society and become useful to an artist,
Gersh said. It is the students marvel
and appreciation for diversity that gives the program its strength. Its
like having a window into each others disciplines, Peterson
said. Computational Sciences Fellows:
The Art of Science Like their counterparts in
Aesthetics in Society, Computational Sciences scholars relish every opportunity
to mingle with students of different fields. Luke Huan, for example, studies
computer science and bioinformatics. Sagar Khare is in the school of pharmacy.
Both of them, it turns out, are interested in drug design. Its
the kind of work Im interested in, so we can share information,
Huan says. This interaction will be very useful to my research. For Computational Sciences
Advisor and Physics Professor Hugon Karwowski, the program is more than
a rigorous research experience. The main goal is to broaden students
horizons, Karwowski said. To achieve that goal, Karwowski arranges
activities that expose the students to some of the newest computer technology
available. Activities have included a session with a computer visualization
specialist (with the chance for scholars to test visualization equipment)
and a trip to the North Carolina Supercomputer Center in Research Triangle
Park. Huan says the supercomputer
lesson was particularly instructive for him since he will likely use similar
equipment in his research. My work will involve intensive computation,
Huan says. Basically, I want the largest and the quickest machine. Brian Kirsch, a student in the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, says he may use the resources at the supercomputer center at some point in the future. But whats exciting now, he says, is being exposed to as many features of computational sciences as possible. Karwowski, too, stressed the
fellowships ability to expose scholars to innovative ideas. He said
he wants the scholars to be intellectually involved and hear about
something they would be unlikely to hear about otherwise.
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